If these after tax contributions can be separately distributed, it means that they are pre 1987 after tax contributions. Post 1986 contributions must come out on a pro rata basis with pre tax funds. You might have some of each in your plan.

There are now two ways to convert to a Roth, the usual way of moving the funds to a TIRA as has been done since 1998 and the new direct Roth conversion available this year. The direct Roth conversion would avoid the pro rate rules of the traditional IRA, where you might have substantial pre tax amounts. Some employer plans may not be set up to administer the direct Roth conversion yet, but it is worth waiting for if you have pre tax amounts in your TIRA that would make a standard conversion largely taxable. A direct conversion of only pre 1987 after tax contributions would be fully tax free.

Both types are subject to the 100,000 income limit until 2010.

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If all the after tax (=post tax) contributions equal 93,000, any additional balances are pre tax. The tax status we are referring to here is the character of the contributions when made, not how they will be taxed coming out of the plan.

If the pre 87 after tax contributions are 60k, that amount should be able to be converted to a Roth IRA directly and tax free under the new direct conversion guidelines effective this year. Any additional amounts would be taxable on a pro rated basis using the pre tax share of the remaining total balance. The total balance is the pre tax amount plus the remaining 33k of after tax contributions.

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